About ToxicTrailers.com

ToxicTrailers.com was launched after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 when the government spent more than $2 billion on FEMA trailers with high levels of formaldehyde that sickened thousands of people. The FEMA trailer tragedy exposed what is a widespread problem in RVs, mobile homes, modular buildings and even conventional buildings that use pressed wood products. Unfortunately, as we approach the tenth anniversary of Katrina, formaldehyde regulations are not being enforced in the U.S., and people's health is at risk. If you are having burning eyes, congestion, sore throat, coughing, breathing difficulties, frequent sinus infections or rashes, and difficulties concentrating, you may have a formaldehyde problem. For questions or to share your story, write 4becky@cox.net.

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

CA fire victims next to be poisoned by FEMA?

I just spoke with Joseph Carmouche of Kiln, Miss. We did two tests of their FEMA provided mobile home (ironically, one designed for people with disabilities). The test results from 7-31-07 were 0.186 ppm. Tests results from 8-24-07 after they had tried airing it out were 0.136 ppm. Both are clearly over the limit of 0.1 ppm which is much higher than what most agencies say is safe for long term exposure (see standards below). Mr. Carmouche, who is elderly, had a serious rash that was nearly fatal, and his wife has also had a bad rash (one of the symptoms of formaldehyde poisoning). Mr. Carmouche has emphysema which got worse after moving into the FEMA mobile home and his wife’s asthma has worsened. They also have had the classic symptom of burning eyes.

FEMA has stopped deploying the RVs because of high formaldehyde levels but continues to distribute mobile homes to victims of disasters. Both the experience of the Huckabees (Lindsay Huckabee testified in Congress about the numerous medical problems her family has suffered as a result of high formaldehyde levels in their FEMA mobile home) and the Carmouche family is that the mobile homes also have this problem.

Are thousands of fire victims in California the next to be poisoned by these FEMA mobile homes? Why has FEMA not tested the mobile homes while assuming they are safe? The mobile homes are made of the same materials as the RVs. Evidently the HUD regulations regarding formaldehyde in mobile homes either aren’t effective or weren’t being enforced when these trailers were made.

One of Sierra Club’s highest formaldehyde test readings at Renaissance Village in Louisiana was the mobile medical unit! This isn’t just a problem confined to RVs.

FEMA still hasn’t learned its lesson. Sure, it is difficult to decide how to house disaster victims if the mobile homes are also high in formaldehyde. But at least in California there should be enough alternate housing that people don’t have to choose between being poisoned by formaldehyde or being homeless.

Warning: RVS and mobile homes may be hazardous to your health!!

Imagine that you have just lost your home in a natural disaster, and are now waiting to get a FEMA trailer for temporary housing. The fact is, you and your family might be better off in a tent or living with friends and relatives, even if it is crowded.

After Hurricane Katrina, FEMA purchased about 102,000 travel trailers at a cost of $2.6 billion to house the victims of the nation’s largest natural disaster. It turns out that the vast majority of these trailers have excessive levels of formaldehyde. See the results of testing done by the CDC that were announced Feb. 29, 2008 at the website http://cdc.gov/nceh/ehhe/trailerstudy/ or just Google CDC formaldehyde FEMA study. This website also has links to information for residents and health care practitioners.

From the very beginning people who received FEMA trailers after Katrina reported experiencing problems such as irritated eyes, breathing problems, bloody noses, headaches, nausea, frequent respiratory infections and skin rashes. We know one family that moved from the FEMA trailer into a storage shed on their property because their daughter threw up every time she spent any time in the trailer. Another man sleeping in his driveway next to his trailer said, “My FEMA trailer is killing me!” One couple experienced such heavy chest congestion combined with nose bleeds that they abandoned their FEMA trailer to sleep in their truck.

The CDC testing confirmed three earlier rounds of testing done by Sierra Club in Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama in 2006 and 2007 with test kits from Advanced Chemical Sensors. Out of 69 tests, 61 were over 0.1 ppm which represents 88 percent of the trailers tested. The tests used 0.1 ppm as the concentration above which health impacts are expected. However, much lower levels are recommended for long-term exposure. The Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry (ATSDR) Minimal Risk Levels are 0.04 ppm for 1-14 days, 0.03 for 14-364 days and 0.008 ppm for 365 or more days exposure. The lowest of the 69 Sierra Club tests was 0.04. The highest test was 0.39.

As you will see by reading the blogs on this page, the formaldehyde problem is not confined to just RVs and mobile homes purchased by FEMA. Manufacturers state that they didn't do anything differently for RVs and mobile homes sold to FEMA than those sold to the general public. People across the country are reporting formaldehyde problems in not just campers and manufactured housing, but regular homes, offices, churches and schools.

For an in-depth look at this issue including how FEMA and the ATSDR tried to coverup the problem rather than respond to a major public health disaster, see the hearing transcript from the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform at http://oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=1413.